Personally, I shrugged, not having a dog in that fight. But I do see five takeaways from what became one of the more divisive development debates around these parts in a while.

Takeaway No. 1: Developers and their cheerleaders ought to know, even in an employer-friendly economy when workers' bargaining power is at an all-time low and just about any job is better than no job, the "job argument" isn't enough.

How many of those prattling on about the jobs Lowe's would bring to the Cape would buy the "jobs" argument if the jobs being created were related to exotic dance clubs, marijuana dispensaries, prostitution or casinos on Cape Cod?

Clearly, the relevant questions are: What kind of jobs and how much do they pay?

According to the Crittenton Women's Union 2013 "Independence Index," a single parent with two children living in Barnstable County needs an annual income of $62,040 in order to meet basic needs. That's not to say a full-time job in the $30,000-a-year range is beneath anyone. But considering the cost-of-living context, $30K is nothing to write home about, especially if there are few, if any, prospects for upward mobility.

Local economies are meant to serve the needs of the broader community; not the community serving the needs of economies.

Recall also that the Upper Cape tech companies Teledyne Benthos and Hydroid Inc. went before the commission in 2008 and 2011, respectively. Both companies' expansion plans were approved and both brought jobs in the $60,000-a-year range. Those kind of jobs sell themselves. Just sayin'...

From 2000 to 2009, the average U.S. homeowner spent $2,432 annually on home improvement projects, according to a 2011 analysis by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The study noted that average annual expenditures across local markets "varied considerably" within the 35 largest metropolitan areas, ranging from $1,218 in San Antonio, Texas, to $4,885 in San Jose, Calif.

For the sake of argument, let's say you can purchase home improvement products at Lowe's for 10 percent less than you could find at a regional competitor. Is saving $243 a year on average really worth it, if it means your neighbor, employed at a locally owned hardware store, loses his or her job because a Lowe's opened, filled with a bunch of part-time positions?

The irony here is that the very folks who would stand to benefit the most from Lowe's lower prices don't make enough money to own a home. They're mostly renters who don't purchase much in the way of home improvement goods.

Actually, old Cape Cod isn't completely gone, as any young family fleeing the region can tell you. Touting yet another low-paying retail development that would disproportionately benefit retirees and second-home owners isn't exactly a youth magnet (see "Independence Index" under Takeaway No. 1).

And suggesting that the Cape is already overdeveloped and ruined so why not pile it on isn't anymore convincing than telling a police officer you shouldn't get a speeding ticket because everyone is else is speeding, too.

Takeaway No. 4: Some Lowe's proponents said that because a number of Dennis officials supported the project, the Cape Cod Commission had no right to say no, even if the Dennis representative on the commission voted against the project.

Just because town officials want a Development of Regional Impact to be located in their town doesn't mean that should carry the day. One of the main reasons the Cape Cod Commission was established in the first place was to give residents in other towns a voice in projects that have regional impact.

Takeaway No. 5: If Dennis had a growth improvement zone as do Barnstable, Yarmouth and Buzzards Bay, Lowe's could have been built without commission approval. Why doesn't Dennis have a GIZ?

Now, the disband-the-Cape-Cod-Commission crowd is predictably upset. But this, too, shall pass. It's far from clear there is popular support to rid us of the one entity that can prevent Cape Cod from turning into Anywhere, USA — to say nothing of the unlikelihood of persuading the state Legislature to allow towns to opt out of a regional land-use and planning agency passed by special legislation.

Just as Confederates had to learn to play within the system after the Civil War, critics of the commission will have to do the same. Maybe that's pushing for commission members to be elected instead of appointed. But the battle over legitimacy is over.

If commission haters' only plan is secession, I refer them to the words of 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick: "If intimidation is your game plan, I hope you have a better one."

Sean Gonsalves can be reached at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com. Follow Sean Gonsalves on Twitter @SeanGonCCT.